Amazon/BookSurge
Antitrust Lawsuit
Campaign
Return to Campaign Home Page
Campaign
Letter
to SPAN Members
July 7, 2008
Hello Everyone,
Recently, the SPAN Board voted to support the class action antitrust lawsuit, BookLocker.com, Inc. vs. Amazon.com, Inc. As most of you know, in late March, the news broke that Amazon had begun a new policy requiring print on demand (POD) publishers using Amazon’s distribution services to print their books using Amazon’s subsidiary BookSurge.
In April, SPAN announced it opposed the policy and I wrote a letter to Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos. I said, in short, the new policy was not in the best interest of either Amazon or SPAN members. Despite public outcry, Amazon has stuck to its new POD policy. This led BookLocker.com, Inc., a POD publisher, to initiate a class action antitrust lawsuit challenging the legality of the policy.
The lawsuit says that Amazon is illegally tying the BookSurge printing to Amazon’s distribution services. According to antitrust law, companies generally cannot require a customer to buy one product or service in order to have access to another distinct product or service.
To help determine the validity of the case, I read the legal Complaint submitted to U.S. District Court and conducted additional research. I was quickly convinced that, based on my reading, BookLocker has a reasonable antitrust case against Amazon. Therefore, it seemed clear that SPAN’s next step should be to support the lawsuit.
The Amazon/BookSurge
Antitrust Lawsuit Campaign
What does supporting the lawsuit mean? SPAN’s goal is to initiate the Amazon/BookSurge
Antitrust Lawsuit Campaign to generate public pressure to compel Amazon to reverse its policy. Our plan is to get as many authors, publishers, and organizations as possible to let Amazon know they support the lawsuit and object to the new policy.
Our objective is to get 10,000 signatures on the campaign petition and 100 writer's and publisher's organizations to join the campaign.
The Antitrust Lawsuit
According to the complaint, BookLocker is seeking to represent a class of “all POD publishers and publishing companies in the United States who either had books listed for sale in the [Amazon] Bookstore, or who had or have an application to have books listed for sale in the [Amazon] Bookstore, at any time from February 10, 2008 through the conclusion of trial of this matter.”
Should the judge approve this class definition, many SPAN members likely will be members of the class (although they will have the opportunity to opt-out if they so choose). However, it is important to note that SPAN itself is not a member of the “class” and is not a party to the lawsuit.
What can you do to help?
Here are five steps that will let Amazon know that publishers and writers want a change:
1. Sign the Petition —We have initiated an online petition individuals and organizations can sign indicating they support the lawsuit. The petition will be sent to Jeff Bezos and the Amazon Board.
You can sign the petition by clicking here.
2. Write Letters —We have written to Amazon again and encourage everyone to do so. Let them know you support the lawsuit and you want them to reverse this new policy.
Send your letter to Jeff Bezos at Amazon
jeff @ amazon.com.
Send us copies of your letters to
classaction @ spannet.org.
3. Spread the Word —Our power comes from you telling people about this campaign. It is just that simple. Tell your friends and contacts through e-mail, newsletters, blogs, social media sites.
Advertise the link for:
4. Request the Support of Your Organizations —SPAN is compiling a list of writer and publisher organizations that also support the lawsuit. You can help us add to this list by contacting organizations you belong to and encouraging them to support the lawsuit. Organizations can let SPAN know of your support by contacting kaye @ spannet.org.
5. Contact the Media —We have sent a news release announcing SPAN’s support of the lawsuit. If you have media contacts, send them the news release.
Click here for a copy of the news release.
Note: Feel free to use the news release, Scott Flora's letters and articles, and Web site copy to spread the word.
I believe Amazon is a good company that has done many beneficial things for independent publishers over the years. SPAN is not calling for a boycott of Amazon. We are supporting the class action lawsuit against Amazon and asking others to also lend their support in order to persuade Amazon to reverse its policy of requiring publishers using its POD distribution services to print with BookSurge.
I am asking you to join SPAN in supporting the lawsuit
by signing the petition, writing Amazon, contacting
the media, and telling your colleagues.
If we work together, we can make a difference.
Thanks,
Scott Flora
SPAN Executive Director
Return to Campaign Home Page
